History of Music in Macau

Macau is a special administrative area located in China. In the past it was a colony of Portugal, which left a legacy of language and other cultural elements. The music is known as Macanese music, a combination of Chinese and Portuguese music.

source of picture: www.koreatimes.co.kr

This type of cross music has its boom in the early 20^th century and the groups that used to perform it were refers to as Tunas. In Portugal, the tuna orchestras comprises of the young men that would get together at universities and make estudiantina-like orchestras, but in Macau, this type of musical group took a diverse orientation, blending it with Carnival ballroom celebrations and street activities. The collection comprised of the carnival marches, waltzes, Cantonese-inspired ballads, ballads, polkas and fados etc.

One of the greatest known songs from this era was the version in Patua for the Brazilian carnival march, known as Mamae eu quero, received the title Mama sa Filo. Also, the renowned Portuguese song Oh Careca tira a boina (Portuguese for: Hey bald man, take off the beret) gained also a Macanese version called Sium Careca also worth of mention are the version in patua for the fado song Uma Casa Portuguesa refers to as Unga Casa Macaista and the songs Bastiana and Assi Sa Macau. The final one is a composition of the cultist of patua language in the region, the poet, composer and also theatre director Jose dos Santos Ferreira also known as Ade a creative composer of music in patua.

The Macanese tuna with which Ade was closely associated appeared in 1935 and still perform now, though with some changes in its lineup. Recently he has eight members (Antonio Lopes like mandolim, vocal, guitar and drumming; Rui Coelho- mandolim, solo guitar, bass and singing; Filomena Jorge like rhythm guitar, bass, solo guitar and singing; Carlo Pereira and drum abd percussion like Judas Manhao Jorge; solo guitar Pedro Santos, bass and percussion; Isabel Carvalhal singing and percussion; A Yiu keyboard).

Some of the musical institutions in the city include Macau group, the Macau youth symphony group and the Macau conservatory that has played a significant impact in music education in the place since its establishment in 1991. The Macao international music festival is a significant yearly event.

One of the greatest important Chinese artists, Xian Xinghai was born in Macai. The pop music in Macau is still in an early era. Though, the boy bands such as Soler have gone to Hong Kong and developed their music career.

The special force awarded the champion in Carlsberg music festival in the year 1991 and also took the best vocal, best bass guitar and best guitars awards. The members include Leo Lei (drums), brothers Lawrence Lei (Vocals), John Ho & Jose da Silva (guitars) and Angelo de Assis (bass guitar). The Dr produced their debut album OD in the year 2003 though they have been act as the main alternative music pioneer for several years.

L.A.V.Y which is the name of the band is comprised of the first letter of the band members Leo (Drums), Angelo (Bass guitar and backing vocals), Vincent (vocals) and Yaz (guitar). Though the band was created in the year 2007, but each member is highly experienced and well respected artists in Macau and their strong music collection guarantees an influential performance whenever they hit the stage. L.A.V.Y began songwriting in the year 2008 with lyrics about the personal experiences. The band features pithy, melodious songs that ere good at bringing out the style in the rock music and they released their debut album known as my Lonely Journey in the late 2012.